TTJ Awards hit the right note

Timbmet was named Timber Trader of the Year at yesterday’s TTJ Awards.

Held at the Park Lane Hotel in London before a record 417 audience, the TTJ Awards featured a last-minute change of speaker – Tony Blair’s former communications director Alastair Campbell, who stepped in for Lord Sebastian Coe, who had to attend a London 2012 Olympics sponsorship launch.

John Dobson from Timbmet collected the top trophy from Awards Gold sponsor Weinig. The company also won the Hardwood Trader category.

Finnforest scooped the Softwood Trader prize, while Kingspan Off-Site won new category Achievement in Engineered Timber for its timber-based Lighthouse housing concept.

Howarth Timber’s Emma Brooks, winner of the over-25 career development prize, told TTJ afterwards: “I am shocked but very pleased to win. I was not expecting it.”

Alastair Campbell, dubbed both “master political communicator” and “master of spin” during his time in government, related several stories from his period working with Tony Blair and John Prescott and had a word of advice for the timber trade regarding sustainability.

“You are right at the heart of that debate. It’s important to have a voice and public support for that voice and take it forward into government and other organisations.”

He also said if someone had asked him while in government what he had thought about the timber trade he would not have had a view, as he hadn’t heard anything about it. “Should I have known about it? Perhaps you should think about that.”

Mr Campbell said the single most important thing the trade could do to be effective in communicating its message with government is to ensure the government already knows about the industry before talking to ministers.

Photographs from the awards will appear in the next issue of TTJ